Zoho Boasts Corporate T&E Functions

Global technology company Zoho Corporation has announced that it will be rolling out a new version of its expense management software, which will help midmarket businesses bring changes in the travel and expense (T&E) process, according to a press release emailed to PYMNTS on Wednesday (May 12).

The updates will help companies control costs when it comes to COVID-19-related effects, allowing businesses to manage travel as well as gain more visibility and control of global spending, all from one place, the release promised.

Business travel has been massively cut down because of COVID-19, with remote work becoming the standard in many places.

TripActions Liquid General Manager Michael Sindicich told Karen Webster recently that business travel may be coming back, with a 17 point jump in late April, but businesses have adapted to the aforementioned remote work. Sindicich said the changes have shown the need for expense management solutions that center around the employee.

The release said the new version of Zoho Expense was made in an attempt to provide total visibility across different offices. There will be a chat bar built into the system to let teams communicate in real-time during the T&E process. This version will allow businesses to access more flexibility and change things in travel and expense policy easily, with customizable approval workflows. Because of that, the release noted the businesses can now be assured that their compliance obligations are fulfilled.

Sivaramakrishnan Iswaran, vice president of Zoho, said large companies are “typically stuck” with legacy solutions when it comes to travel and expense management and thus businesses have to compromise on end-user experience and the features they need.

“The new version of Zoho Expense is built specifically to address this problem,” said Iswaran. It’s “a solution that is both feature-rich, and intuitive to use,” he said. Per Iswaran, software features — like end-to-end travel management, artificial intelligence (AI)-based fraud prevention, automation, customizable policies, advanced budget management and more — help organizations easily control costs and manage compliance.